In open heart surgery, it is necessary to split the sternum bone along the body's plane of symmetry to separate the ribcage and gain access to the heart. After surgery, the two halves of the sternum bone must be rejoined and stabilized, permitting the bones to knit together during the recovery process.
To knit properly, the two halves of the sternum bone must be physically tied together. Commonly, the surgeon drills a series of about ten holes through one half of the sternum bone and a similar set of ten holes in the other half of the sternum bone which allows a tie to be laced between adjacent holes in each half to tie the halves together.
The holes are now made by a bone awl, which includes a bone awl bit and a handle. The surgeon grasps the awl by the handle and manually drills the hole by rotating the awl while forcing the awl against the sternum bone. This procedure takes considerable time, lengthening the exposure of the patient to the trauma of surgery, and also is physically exhausting to the surgeon. A need thus exists for an improved apparatus or method for providing the necessary holes needed for stabilization of the sternum bone halves to permit knitting.